The Antichrist makes a deal with the Devil
by PitaEnigma
Summary: Oneshot. Mengsk is a coop commander. Why?


They couldn't keep this prisoner in a normal cell. He would be murdered or he would become an inspiration to the others and Valerian couldn't decide which would be worse. What he and Horner had settled on, in the end, was to disappear him. A luxurious apartment on the thirty fourth floor of a tower had gone under construction for a while, and the tower changed from a ninety eight floor one to a ninety seven floor one.

The elevator to the thirty third and a half floor was a tense ride for him. Thoughts swirled in his head of what he ought to say and battled recriminations he was already preparing for how he would walk down the brightly lit hallway and knock on the door (he could just open it, damn it, he was _Emperor_) and say nothing in the blistering gaze of his father.

Sometimes he wanted to curse James Raynor for a moment of nobility, for shooting his father in the hand rather than the face. He wanted to curse the Queen of Blades for remembering decency and humanity she never even had as a human, and forgiving the man she'd sworn to kill. It would have saved everyone trouble. Him most of all. But that was life for Valerian Mengsk. Shouldering burdens others dropped.

He was so wrapped up in his self pity (another reason he kept failing) that he didn't notice how, almost on autopilot, he'd walked down the corridor and knocked on the door. He only came to his senses when the door opened and he stood in front of his father.

His thoughts blanked, the conflicting emotions fighting one another and crushing all rationality. He said nothing.

"I see you've come to check up on your prisoner," his father snarled. "Come on in, then, _Emperor_."

His father had lived the life of an ascetic before taking on the throne, and had reverted to it easily as a prisoner. He wore a simple black shirt and pants rather than his former imperial uniform, and the apartment was kept immaculate. Valerian suspected it was in order to make his captors face his eyes, and the disdainful glare he shared freely with anyone who dared look at him.

"Father," he finally said. It was neutral enough a word.

"What brings you to grace my humble abode with your presence?" his father asked. The _tone_ was there. "I'm smarter than you," the tone said, "and the fact that you aren't licking my boots is an embarrassment to both of us."

"You get UNN," Valerian said.

"You mean I get lied to." His father turned to the kitchen and filled a glass with water, disdainful of Valerian's presence. It was all an act, and he was the perfect audience for his father taking a sip, making a disgusted face, and leaning back against the wall. "I know what UNN is."

"We're at war," Valerian said. "The greatest threat the galaxy has ever known is against us. We've all united. The Dominion, the Swarm, all of the factions of the Protoss. We're fighting them in every part of the galaxy."

"Your Moebius Foundation," his father said. He smiled. "You played with a monster and it bit you back."

"You also funded experiments with the hybrids, father."

"I was cautious. Had I been able to continue as emperor, I would have stopped it before it had gone too far. It was only through your efforts that the Queen of Blades escaped justice and only thanks to your rebellion that I was distracted."

Valerian couldn't help himself. A laugh was suppressed, but the snort came out anyway. The outraged look on Arcturus Mengsk's face was worth it.

"You mock me?" Arcturus asked.

"You _mock_ yourself," Valerian said. "You started the Hybrid project. You allowed it to continue and you trusted Narud. You gave him what he needed to start his experiments. Wasn't it you who told me that a leader who makes excuses for his failures is no leader at all?"

"What do you want?" Arcturus snapped. The words were spat out in anger, the haughty superiority gone.

"When we needed support, we looked in many places. The Tal'darim were an immediate choice, and Alarak agreed to join us. Alexei Stukov came back into the Swarm to help. Mira Han agreed to join us without even asking for pay. Tychus Findlay was happy to be back in action. Zeratul came out of his self imposed exile. We even found a mad scientist with a mechanical brood of Zerg. And even so, it isn't enough."

"So you've come to beg for my help?"

"I wasn't going to, but… wartime economy has led to some difficult sacrifices. People are angry. And you're still an icon to them. I'm ruler because I'm Mengsk, but that's only half the name, and we need your face out there."

"Are you abdicating to me?" Arcturus asked, genuine surprise in his face.

"No. I'm not that stupid. You'll have a grand uniform, and under it, you'll have an amazing reason not to betray us. I haven't asked for the details, but Admiral Horner has assured me you would live just long enough to regret it."

"So as a figurehead. To placate the fools in the cities."

"To help save the people from themselves." Valerian hated the man at the moment. Why did he ever seek power in the first place, beyond a desire for revenge?

"You believe in them, don't you? The common man?"

"Why else lead?"

"You're as stupid as they are, then." Mengsk's tone of superiority was back. "The common man is little better than a sheep. They deserve what's going to happen to them. Do you remember my words? The ones your friends had blaring in every news vid? 'I will rule this sector or see it burned to ashes around me.' I'm not going to save the sector for you only to go back to seeing it in a cell."

"What are your terms, then?" What would he demand? What could Valerian cede that wouldn't offend Kerrigan? That wouldn't make Raynor turn on him, or make Horner quit, or convince Artanis he was betrayed? What would he sacrifice as emperor?

"I lead an army of my own. Release my royal guard from their prisons, and a few scientists. Doctor Subsourian, if you remember who he is. The man is probably in your prison. He deserves to be, anyway. I will make speeches among the common man, and among the prisoners, and recruit those who come with me. And I will lead them to battle against the hybrids."

"You will be fighting alongside people who hate you. James Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan, Matthew Horner, Mira Han, Zeratul, Alexei Stukov, Artanis." _Me_, Valerian didn't say.

"They will live. You'll convince them I'm the lesser threat. They worked with me in the past, they'll do it again."Arcturus's smile didn't grow, but the joy in his eyes did. "And I go free afterwards. Me and my royal guard. I won't usurp the throne you stole. I will disappear. Maybe go to the Umojan Protectorate. See what I can do there."

"I can't agree to the last one. They would have my hide for it." _And I don't believe you'll disappear. You're a monster. You'll come back for revenge._

Arcturus demonstratively washed the glass and put it away, turning his back on his son. "They don't have to know."

"I won't lie to my allies," Valerian said.

"Then your business here is over," his father said. "Close the door on your way out, will you?"

Valerian sighed. He could maybe make another overture to the Umojans. Maybe Artanis would find another fleet of Protoss. Maybe Kerrigan would find a brood somewhere. He could find a solution.

A week of protests later, Valerian signed the documents. He stared at the portrait of the man he called father. Nothing else came to mind.


End file.
